Constitutional Law

The Supreme Court of India in 2026 took a proactive step towards evaluating how effectively the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwD Act) is being implemented across the country. In an initiative titled Project Ability Empowerment, the Court directed National Law Universities (NLUs) to conduct comprehensive assessments of RPwD Act compliance in their respective states. This marks a significant judicial effort to move beyond enacting disability rights legislatio

The Kerala High Court has directed the Sub-Registrar and Marriage Officer of Mavelikkara to process and solemnise the marriage of an Indian man and a Sri Lankan woman under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. The order, passed in May 2026, addresses the practical difficulties faced by cross-border couples seeking to register their marriage in India when one party is a foreign national. The ruling clarifies the obligations of Marriage Officers under the Special Marriage Act and re

The Supreme Court of India has raised serious concerns over a November 2025 Delhi High Court judgment that prohibited law colleges across the country from debarring students for shortage of attendance. The bench observed that the ruling may have created significant disruption in legal education institutions, particularly National Law Universities (NLUs), and questioned the Bar Council of India (BCI) on why the decision had not been challenged. This development has reignited t

In Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission v. Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (2026 INSC 461), decided on May 7, 2026, the Supreme Court held that electricity consumers cannot be compelled to bear depreciation costs for a power plant that has stopped supplying electricity to them. The Court restored the order of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) and set aside the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) judgment that had permitted Tata Power Delhi Dis

The practice of excommunication, known as baraat, within the Dawoodi Bohra community is now being examined by a nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court of India. This matter has been clubbed with the larger reference arising from the Sabarimala judgment, which concerns the interplay between religious freedom under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution and other fundamental rights. The hearings, which resumed in May 2026, raise fundamental questions about whether r

The Delhi High Court has set aside a 2018 arbitral award in the dispute between PTC Techno Pvt. Ltd. and Samsung India Electronics Pvt. Ltd., holding that the appointment of the arbitrator by an official of Samsung was legally impermissible. The ruling reinforces the principle, now well-established through a series of Supreme Court judgments, that unilateral appointment of an arbitrator by one party to the dispute undermines the fundamental requirement of arbitrator independe

In M/s Steag Energy Services (India) Pvt. Ltd. v. GSPC Pipavav Power Company Ltd. (2026), the Supreme Court reaffirmed the fundamental principle that courts must exercise restraint when reviewing complex contractual and technical decisions made by evaluative authorities in high-value commercial procurement processes. The judgment underscores the importance of respecting the expertise and discretion of bodies constituted to evaluate commercial proposals, and sets clear limits

In Ahsan v. Shambhu Lal Vaishnav (2026 INSC 354), a bench of Justice J.K. Maheshwari and Justice Atul S. Chandurkar enhanced the motor accident compensation for a 14-year-old boy who suffered 100 per cent permanent disability from Rs 12.17 lakh (awarded by the Rajasthan High Court) to Rs 56.83 lakh. The judgment underscores the Supreme Court's approach to ensuring that compensation in motor accident cases reflects the true extent of loss suffered by victims, particularly mino

In Dr. Nigam Prakash Narain v. National Medical Commission (2026 INSC 453), decided on May 6, 2026, the Supreme Court held that a disciplinary authority cannot impose punishment on an employee for a charge that was never framed against him without issuing a fresh show-cause notice. The Court invoked Article 142 of the Constitution to grant relief to a 76-year-old paediatrician whose three-month removal from the Medical Register was reduced to a formal censure. Facts of the C

In a judgment delivered in May 2026, the Supreme Court quashed criminal proceedings against a man accused of rape on the basis of a false promise of marriage, holding that prolonged consensual cohabitation negates the charge under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code. The bench of Justice K.V. Viswanathan and Justice Manmohan set aside the Bombay High Court's refusal to quash the FIR, emphasising that a consensual relationship that sours cannot be retroactively criminalised a

In Alpha Corp Development Private Limited v. Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (2026 INSC 449), decided on May 5, 2026, the Supreme Court lifted the corporate veil to include the assets of subsidiary land-holding companies within the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) of the holding company, Earth Infrastructures Limited (EIL). Justices Sanjay Kumar and Alok Aradhe restored the NCLT-approved resolution plans, providing relief to over 4,200 homebuyers

The Telangana High Court has set aside a Family Court interim order that restrained a wife from approaching her husband, his residence, or workplace during pending divorce proceedings. A Division Bench of Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya and Justice Gadi Praveen Kumar held that courts cannot determine mental illness based solely on a spouse's allegations without any medical evidence, and that restricting a person's fundamental right to movement requires strong and credible reaso

On May 6, 2026, the Delhi High Court dismissed a petition seeking to increase the retirement age of doctors and medical officers working in the General Reserve Engineering Force (GREF) and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) from 60 to 65 years. A division bench of Justices V. Kameswar Rao and Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora held that the fixation of superannuation age is a policy matter falling squarely within the domain of the executive, and courts cannot prescribe a different r

On May 6, 2026, the Supreme Court directed the Union and State governments to implement the policy of upward movement for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD). Under this policy, PwBD candidates who score above the general category cut-off on their own merit must be considered against unreserved vacancies, rather than being confined to the reserved quota. The Court confirmed that this approach advances the constitutional mandate of equality, dignity, and inclusion under

The Supreme Court of India began hearing petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023. The hearings, which commenced on May 6, 2026, before a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma, examine whether the exclusion of the Chief Justice of India from the selection committee for Election Commissioners undermines the independ

On May 5, 2026, the Union Cabinet approved the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, raising the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court of India from 34 to 38 judges, including the Chief Justice of India. This marks the first expansion of the apex court's bench strength since 2019 and comes in response to an unprecedented backlog of pending cases that has strained judicial capacity for years. Background: Why the Expansion Was Needed The Supreme Court of In

The Supreme Court of India in 2026 modified a Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court judgment concerning the closure of the Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT) scheme, holding that the formal closure of the scheme cannot retrospectively impair the rights of candidates who had already been placed in select panels. The Court ruled that candidates who meet the statutory educational standards and were duly selected before the scheme's closure retain their appointment rights. This decision has

During the ongoing hearings before the nine-judge Constitution Bench in the Sabarimala reference case in May 2026, Senior Advocate Khambata made a significant submission that the English doctrine of coverture was never accepted in Indian law and has never been part of the Indian legal system. The nine-judge Bench, led by CJI Surya Kant, heard this argument as part of the broader examination of religious rights, gender equality, and personal law in India. While the primary ref

The Supreme Court of India in May 2026 granted anticipatory bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera in a forgery case, observing that the allegations appeared to be politically motivated and influenced by political rivalry rather than constituting a genuine criminal matter warranting custodial interrogation. This order raises important questions about the scope of anticipatory bail under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 (corresponding to the former Secti

The Supreme Court Collegium, in its meeting held on May 4, 2026, approved the elevation of thirteen advocates and judicial officers as judges across two High Courts. Ten names were cleared for the Punjab and Haryana High Court, including seven advocates (Monica Chhibber Sharma, Harmeet Singh Deol, Puja Chopra, Sunish Bindlish, Navdeep Singh, Divya Sharma, and Ravinder Malik) and three more names (Pravindra Singh Chauhan, Rajesh Gaur, and others) in a separate resolution. Addi